For people living with epilepsy that does not respond to medication, finding the source of their seizures can be life-changing. Surgery can offer these patients the possibility of becoming seizure-free, but first clinicians need to identify where in the brain the seizures originate. Sometimes, conventional brain imaging scans simply don't reveal an obvious abnormality.
Researchers at The Neuro are working to change that.
BrainScores, a company emerging from research at The Neuro, is developing artificial intelligence-powered neuroimaging tools designed to uncover subtle brain abnormalities that may otherwise be difficult to detect.
Co-founded by Neuro researcher Boris Bernhardt, an internationally recognized expert in neuroimaging and epilepsy, and Jordan De Kraker, a postdoctoral research fellow in Bernhardt’s lab, BrainScores grew from years of research into how advanced brain imaging and computational methods can provide a more detailed picture of the brain.
The technology goes beyond simply looking at an MRI image. BrainScores analyzes and standardizes imaging data, maps subtle differences across the brain, and uses AI-assisted analysis to identify patterns that may point to abnormalities associated with epilepsy. The results can then be reviewed by clinical experts and used to help inform surgical planning.
The potential impact for patients is significant.
Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy make up about 30% of people living with epilepsy. They can wait for years, if not decades, before surgery is becomes a possibility. Many of these patients have lesions in their brains that are so subtle that conventional radiological exams do not detect them. The BrainScores technology can help identify such lesions in different parts of the brain, including the neocortex and hippocampus where subtle or difficult to detect structural abnormalities associated with epilepsy can occur. [SM1.1][DM1.2]By improving the detection of these abnormalities, BrainScores can support more precise surgical planning, with the goal of helping more people become seizure free[SM2.1][DM2.2][DM2.3].
This illustrates the promise of bringing together artificial intelligence, advanced imaging and clinical expertise: helping clinicians see information that may have been hidden in existing scans and potentially giving more patients a path toward effective treatment.
Turning research into clinical innovation
BrainScores also reflects The Neuro's broader commitment to moving discoveries from the laboratory toward real-world impact. The project received early support through McGill's Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives (HBHL) initiative and subsequently benefited from HBHL’s NeuroSphere's commercialization ecosystem, helping transform academic research into a technology designed for clinical use.
For patients and families facing years of uncontrolled seizures and uncertainty, that translation matters. By making subtle abnormalities more visible and clinically meaningful, BrainScores is helping build a future in which advanced imaging and AI can support more precise diagnoses, better-informed surgical decisions and, ultimately, better outcomes for people with epilepsy.
The next stage for BrainScores is to validate the technology across larger groups of patients across multiple centres and integrate it into real-world radiology and epilepsy-care workflows. Ultimately, the goal is to give clinicians more sensitive, quantitative tools for interpreting brain MRI, helping identify abnormalities that may otherwise be missed and enabling more patients to receive timely, targeted treatment.
